To me, the most interesting element of Mailbox’s current offering is its server. Sure, right now it is simply facilitating the sorting of email, but imagine if it became smart. If it could read my email and perform actions based on its understanding of my behaviours, turning the way I naturally approach my email into my very own digital secretary. If it interfaced with other services I use, preventing me from missing that email regarding a task I have in my task management tool, or forwarding the address to a party I was invited to on Facebook to my Google Maps iPhone app.

There are a lot of useful and intelligent actions that can be automated server-side. But, as with Google Now (et. al.), “reading” user email needs to be weighed against the obvious privacy concerns. Even though Dropbox, the new owners of Mailbox, haven’t given me enough cause for concern in the way that Google has, it’s an issue that is still on my mind.